WD’s Revenue Down as Hard Drives Unit Sales Drop.

Western Digital on Wednesday reported revenue for Q2 of its fiscal 2013, which ended on December 28, 2012. The company’s revenue was down significantly as a result of substantial drop in hard disk drive (HDD) shipments and flat average selling price. While the company remains No.1 supplier of HDDs, its lead over Seagate Technology is minimal.

WD reported revenue of $3.8 billion, hard-drive shipments of 59.2 million and net income of $335 million, or $1.36 per share for its second quarter of fiscal 2012. For the previous quarter, (ended September 28, 2012) WD the company reported revenue of $4.0 billion, hard-drive shipments of 62.5 million and net income of $519 million, or $2.06 per share.

Western Digital’s average HDD selling price during Q2 FY2013 was $62, flat with the prior quarter, but lower than $65 in Q4 FY 2012. Favorable mix during the second fiscal quarter offset modest like-for-like price decline. Still, the trend of dropping hard drive prices, which is rather alarming for WD, will likely continue as the PC market remains soft.

“We are pleased with our December quarter results, reflecting outstanding execution and value creation by our HGST and WD teams. In an environment marked by continued macro economic uncertainty, soft PC demand and inventory rebalancing by our customers, we continue to manage our business by focusing on those variables that we control, allowing us to generate better than expected revenue and profitability and strong cash generation,” said Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer.

The company generated $772 million in cash from operations during the December quarter, ending with total cash and cash equivalents of $3.8 billion. During the quarter, the company utilized $146 million to buy back 4.2 million shares of common stock. On December 3, the company declared a $0.25 per common share dividend, which was paid on December 26.